My, what a busy month. Where does the time go? Carroll County Cooperative Extension was the host for the 4-H District 3 Variety Show and what a great program.

There were 10 contestants, seven from Kenton County, one from Pendle-ton County and two from Carroll County. The talent consisted of piano playing, violin, singing, guitar playing, tap dancing, and modern dancing. Both of Carroll County’s contestants will go on to perform at the state fair in August. It is so wonderful to see our youth as they perform in front of an audience.

Developing a grazing management plan for your pastures is a critical practice for livestock producers because pasture is the most economical and efficient way to feed your animals.

The first step in developing a grazing plan is to identify the forage species in your pastures. During most of the spring and fall in Kentucky, we find cool-season grasses along with some legumes. The following descriptions are those forages we see most often:

We invite all interested Carroll County youth and adults to enter exhibits at the 2013 Carroll County Fair.

Fair catalogs are available at the Carroll County Exten-sion office, The News-Demo-crat office and other locations around town. Fair entries will be accepted Friday, June 7, from 9 a.m. until noon at the exhibit trailer just inside the fairgrounds. Items must be handcrafted, homemade, or grown by the exhibitor this past year.

Adults must enter in the open class division and youth may enter in the 4-H or some of the open-class categories.

Have you noticed the presence of carpenter bees around your home lately?

These beneficial pollinators can be intimidating. They are relatively large in size and can cause considerable structural damage over time.

Carp-enter bees spend the winter as adults in their gallery homes. Now, they are starting new tunnels or expanding old ones in order to raise a brood of about six larvae during the summer. Accumulations of sawdust may be the first sign that their work has begun.

Would you like to learn ways to make spaces in your home easier for you, your family and friends to use? Do you wish it were easy to do? A special program on universal design, “Home Access-ibility ... Intro-duction to Universal Design and Home Tour” will be held Wednesday, May 22 at the Durr Annex of the Kenton County Cooperative Extension Service in Edgewood.

Less than 5 percent of Americans consume the minimum recommended amount of whole grains.

Although Ameri-cans generally eat enough total grains, most grains consumed are “refin-ed” grains rather than “whole” grains. Unfortunately, many refined grain foods are high in solid fats and added sugars.

There is evidence that eating whole grains may reduce the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer (e.g., colon) as well as help control body weight.